Rest
by Scooter12345
Summary: Mother. Knows. Best. . . He may have broken his promises, but as a guardian of life I failed him too. I should have made them go. She's chopped down my favorite tree; this time this one can't be replanted. I may have lost it forever. I can only hope it left a seed; a seed I can find and care for. I hope I can replant the Beanpole tree. This story might be taken down and reworked.
1. Rest: Nevertheless

He was unsure as to why he listened to the comment she made. She made so many.

"Those pants make your butt look too big, Oncie, models they just don't look like that. You want to sell that Thneed don't you? You wanna make your mamma proud right?" she remarked snidely.

At first he wondered why his mother was looking at his butt in the first place. Then he looked in the mirror. He could see it too. He blinked a few times and the distorted image left his view but he was sure it was there for a second.

He was starting to get fidgety.

_No more marshmallows for you. And maybe you should skip desert tonight. I mean it's not really that good for you anyway. You can go running after dinner. Ya know get back in shape before your photo shoot. You gotta look good for the ladies . . . Audrey. _

She was always in his thoughts. He brushed that aside. He was famous now. He needed to look good. So, maybe he wouldn't run. However, he would NOT be having dessert tonight on under any circumstances.

He opened his door and Alice bounded into his arms. "Hi Daddy," she smiled.

"Hey kiddo," he said ruffling his hair. He stared off into space with a raised eyebrow.

**I'm starting to sound like my dad. **He thought to himself.

She laughed. "Come on Aunt Laura and I made pancakes with syrup and vanilla in them."

He laughed lightly.

"She even got ice cream!" Alice said falling into a heap on the floor and bouncing back up again holding a stuffed unicorn in her arms.

"I think I'll pass on the ice cream." He said with a smile.

"Why?" She asked. "It's chocolate and we got extra mallows to put in it."

He just smiled at her, "I'm just not in the mood today, but you should still have some."

"Okay!" She said happily running into the kitchen.

"If you work any harder Beanpole you'll turn into a tiny little bean and blow away."

"Good to see you too," he said rolling his blue eyes.

"How are you feeling Beanpole," he asked seriously now.

"I'm alright I guess. My chest is a little sore but I'm fine. I carry an inhaler on me."

"You sure you're alright kid?" He asked looking him over. There was something amiss and off about him.

"I'm fine relax Mustache." He said walking into the kitchen.

He closed his eyes taking in the aroma that once was so pleasing to him. He could eat pancakes for every meal of everyday for his entire life. However, today, they just didn't appeal to him the way they usually did. He brushed it off and ate alongside his friends.

"You alright honey," Laura asked him after dinner, "You didn't eat as much as usual is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine." He promised.

"Is your asthma okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm dealing with it." He said.

"That wasn't what I asked. I asked if it was okay, as in under control and not giving you trouble."

"If I catch it before it acts up it's under control," he said with a small smile.

"Okay," she said a slight edge to her voice. "How are you holding up with Alice?"

"She's a handful sometimes but most of the time she's the best part of my day."

"Good," Laura nodded.

"Daddy my favorite song's on the radio," she said turning it up.

She took his hands and began to dance.

_Hey, where have you been?_

_Where did you go looking for innocence?_

_Shame is holding you down, selling you out,_

_Won't you come back again?_

_'Cause you've found a way to go on for days,_

_Pretending to live._

_But you are not OK with all of that weight,_

_You need to give up._

_Come now, just let it go,_

_Let it fall down, let it all flow like,_

_The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left._

_Won't you come to me and rest?_

She was standing on his feet her soft slippers rubbing over his bare toes.

He smiled as she started to relax into him.

He took her to her room and tucked her in.

"Come now, just let it go,

Let it fall down, let it all flow like,

The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left.

Won't you come to me as you are...

Dirty and broken with all your scars,

From all the unspoken.

With all the words that you wanted to say,

But you locked them away inside.

Come now, just let it go,

Let it fall down, let it all flow like,

The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left...

Come now, just let it go,

Let it fall down, let it all flow like,

The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left.

Won't you come to me and rest?"

He kissed her forehead.

. . .

She just wanted to be like everyone else. She wanted a boy friend. She was willing to deal with the things he asked her to do. She wanted a boy friend so badly. She was a 'freak' a 'lesbo' and an 'abnormality' through all of high school. When she went to college she really wanted to be 'normal'.

She found him. He was sweet. He talked a nice game. He spoke sweet and he spoke gentle. She fell for it. She was nineteen who wouldn't. The first year they were just friends. It was all good. She never saw anything in him.

She never felt attracted to him either though. He was sweet, but there wasn't anything there. He transferred anyway. She grabbed hold of another guy as soon as she could.

He was as dumb as rocks and she couldn't stand him. She missed the first boy she fell for. So, she left him go. She waited until twenty one to try again.

When she was twenty one she fell for another boy. He was the classic prince charming. He took her to places she didn't even know existed and then some. She fell into the trap of the pick-up lines and lies that he fed her.

She wouldn't let him do anything really obscene, but, she convinced herself that she was attracted to him and that she loved him. That was her first mistake. She hummed that song her father sang to herself.

"It's the first night I've spent without him in weeks," she whispered. "I asked him if we were wrong to do this. He promised me it was okay."

They hadn't really done anything. They'd kissed before hard and intense and passionately. She was starting to get scared, was she in the wrong because she trusted he wouldn't do anything.

She sat on her bed scared and confused. She didn't know where to turn.

She picked up the phone and called her father's number. No matter what happened he promised he'd always answer.

"Hello?" The man's voice came though on the other end.

"Hi Daddy it's Alice," she said trying to sound happy and unafraid.

Unfortunately for her, he could read right through it.


	2. Could I have changed it?

The Lorax's POV

Something really seemed to be affecting the kid. Laura could sense it sort of I could tell but I could tell more. I was more attuned to life than she was, even his.

Maybe it was the fact that he walked slower, ate less, smiled less, and looked hurt. He walked like an old man today. He was usually filled with energy ready to burst like a cannon. He didn't do that anymore. His family came and his energy left. I didn't like them.

His family reeked of selfishness, greed, and hatred. I read none of this from Beanpole. So much, that I almost didn't believe these idiots were relations of his. His mother was an absolutely evil woman, greedy and snobbish to her core. Grizelda, who I still cannot believe is a woman, is one of my least favorite people in the world. I still remember her. I still remember her greed, her villainy, and her physical strength. His uncle is a push over, cowardly and a mere mollusk of a man. Then his brothers, those two boys they were violent. Beanpole was scared of them I think. Even though I would never say it, I was too. They were BIG kids. They were as tall as Beanpole and muscular.

I turned my attention back to the kid. He'd barely eaten. He was so thin already what was he thinking? He was hard to read. It was like he was concealing something from me. His conscience was clear of the trees that I knew. This was a new development. He seemed hurt. He was lost, distant and reserved.

I watched him tuck Alice in. I watched the fear in his eyes as Laura left. He looked like a small child begging her to stay. His gentle voice saying "Wish you could stay," was so much more than a simple courtesy tonight. There was a plea in there. His resolve was cracking underneath the tired exterior the energy was transformed into anxiety.

He looked as though he was in pain. I could feel it. He was tired. His family hated him. I could see that. I wish I knew what was bothering him.

"Hey kid, you wanna talk?" I asked him hopping up on a table next to the easy chair. He was sitting in it sideways letting his head fall to one side.

"About what?" He asked me playing clueless.

"You just seem run down kid are you feeling alright?" It was the first thing I thought might be bothering him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled at me.

"What's wrong then?" I pressed.

"It's . . ." he bit his lip debating whether or not to tell me.

"Come on kid. I won't judge ya." I said giving his shoulder a squeeze. The kid surprised me when he started to cry. He rarely cried. Yeah he was sort of a fruitcake sometimes but he was good at hiding his emotions.

"She said my butt looked big. Okay! I'm sensitive. I hate it! I hate it so much! She always says stuff. She always says I'm not good enough. She wants me to chop trees because things aren't "moving fast enough". She says "handmade isn't quick enough" but I LIKE knitting." He had his face in his hands sobbing.

"Shhh . . . kid it's okay. You don't need to listen to her. I'm assuming this is your mother." He nodded once and continued to sob inconsolably. I rubbed his arms. "You're doing so well. Thank you." I tried to help him calm down.

I didn't want to deal with this 'athsma' thing he kept trying to explain to me. It reminded me FAR too much of his illness four months ago. It was 'triggered' by him getting upset. He was pretty clearly upset.

He just cried. He sat there crying for nearly twenty minutes. He fell asleep in the chair. I grabbed a blanket from his room and draped it over him.

"It's okay kid," I said giving his hand a squeeze. "You're doing alright." I didn't know how wrong I was.

For years I wondered what I could have done differently. If I'd pushed I could have killed him, but I could have done more. I could have gotten up in his family's faces.


	3. Failure to Realize

Rest 3

He woke up and cracked his back. It was a Saturday in summer. Two of the best combinations in the world, he thought. Alice was watching cartoons. He smiled. She had to go to school during the year and the company was just getting started so Once-ler had Laura keep her during the school year and she stayed with him during the summer.

He got up to brush his teeth and looked in the mirror. His eyes were met by a distorted image. He looked in the mirror eyes widening in shock and horror. He now saw everything his mother was seeing. He was too fat for that photo shoot. He locked the bathroom door. He didn't know what to do.

He started doing insane numbers of sit-ups in a mad attempt to erase the image. He looked in the mirror and as quickly as the image had been there it was gone. As quickly as that inflated balloon like image of him had been standing in the mirror, it was now gone.

"I'm going crazy," he whispered. He got dressed in his work clothes and brushed his hair.

He leaned against the locked door before opening it. He was trying so hard he was trying to balance it all and it was blowing up in his face. He was scared and he was sure it read.

"Beanpole?" The Lorax as he walked into the room. "Rough morning?" he asked.

Once-ler nodded. His dark hair lay disheveled. He was scared.

"You okay kid?" He asked.

"I don't know." Once-ler admitted honestly.

"Not the answer I was looking for kid." The Lorax said looking up at him.

He made breakfast for Alice and the animals and left eating nothing himself.

"Kid aren't you going to," the door closed, "Eat something?"

Alice shared a worried look with the Lorax.

"What's wrong with Daddy?" She asked.

"I don't know Bright Eyes." He said sadly watching Once-ler walk to his office which was just a few blocks away.

Once-ler chewed on his pencil. "I'm so proud of me. Look at this! This is amazing!"

"Oncie I need to talk to you." His mother said. He spun the swivel chair towards the window.

"Production is too slow." She said.

"You've told me before but I want to preserve the trees. What can we do?"

"Well and this is just a thought we could chop down the trees."

"That's out of the question." He stated.

"Think about it Oncie think about your business and your mama."

"Fine I guess we could chop down just a few trees." He whispered.

"Now you're talkin'" His uncle shouted.

"Bret! CHET!" She screeched. They began chopping down five or six trees.

"That's not what I had in mind!" Once-ler shouted. He shut the drape of the window and leaned back on the swivel chair.

'I said a few not half the forest!'

"Beanpole! Hey! You broke your promise! You're better than this! Stand up to her!" His aunt slapped her hand over his mouth.

That stunned him. "Stop!" He shouted.

"Can't stop now you run the business, mom runs the labor," Bret said.

"I run the business MOM runs nothing stop chopping down the trees!" Once-ler said.

The Lorax wasn't around to see or hear what happened when Once-ler attempted this. His mother took the butt of one of the axes and slammed it into the teen's small body.

"Don't you dare Oncie or I'll forget which side is which."

He gulped. Melvin brayed and ran over to his master. He kicked the middle aged woman in the stomach and stood over Once-ler protectively.

"You tell that mule of yours to learn its manners Oncie!" She said picking herself up.

The trees continued to come down despite his protests. Tears of shame and anger ripped down his face. He skipped lunch. He stayed in his office and refused to leave for dinner.

Laura came home and found the Lorax and Alice looking sadly out the window.

"He isn't home yet." Alice said sadly.

"It was a rough day for him."

"I saw stumps why did I see stumps?" Laura asked.

"His family finally got the better of him," the Lorax said sadly.

"Oh boy," Laura shook her head, "And I'm sure that's not the only lies she's fed him."

"Come on Alice time for bed. I'm sure he's fine." She said softly. "I'll go look for him."

The Lorax slipped out and went to Once-ler's office. The kid was crying surrounded in papers and he didn't even know what else. He saw pencil stubs, eraser bits, and tissues.

"Kid? Kid are you alright?"

"I'm sorry; I-I tried to stop her but . . . she's taken over. It's not even my business anymore I don't have a say in anything!"

"Oh," the Lorax whispered. "What do you mean you tried?"

"Nothing. She just; she pushed me too hard." He said putting a hand on his bruised abdomen.

. . .

I should have checked. I was the guardian of life and in that moment I failed. I failed him. I watched him cry for a long time and I didn't try to force information from him. I didn't tell his family; his pain to go away. I just sat and watched. He may have backed out of his promise but I failed in my duties too.


	4. Eating is for Promise Keepers

He watched me for a long time. He just stared as I picked at my food. I didn't know if it was just my depression about those beautiful trees or what was wrong. I just knew there was something inside of me telling me I shouldn't eat. I wasn't hungry anyway.

Okay that was a lie; I was hungry, but I still didn't want food. I just didn't want to eat. I was scared. I'd never felt hungry but unable to eat before in my life. I felt sick. I felt like if I ate anything that I would just throw up any way.

He was still staring at me.

"Kid you're not eating," he said to me pointing out the obvious.

I didn't know what to say. There was a small part of me that began to say: _Look at how huge you are already. You don't deserve to eat. Yes, eating is for people who keep their promises. _

"I'm just not very hungry." I said lying. _Lying is becoming a new habit of yours isn't it? _

I bit back tears. I was so confused and scared.

He just watched he didn't know anything. He didn't really care. Why! Why was he still standing there?

He watched me leave for my room. I looked in the full body mirror and dropped to my knees and cried. There I was in all of my fat, obese glory. I ran fingers through my hair.

I heard the door creak open and I saw him behind me. He watched me cry and then he approached cautiously.

"You don't have to do this Beanpole."

"You don't understand," I whispered, "You don't know her."

He squeezed my shoulder. "You haven't seen what she's done or heard what she's said. You don't know her. I don't want you to. Get out of my life before it hurts you like it's hurt others."

"What do you mean kid," he asked.

"Just, when it comes to people in my situation, don't get too attached," I whispered climbing into bed. He jumped in next to me.

"I'm worried about you kid; I care about you."

"Don't be." _I'm not worth caring about._

"I can't help it kid 's my job to care about living things."

. . .

I broke my promises. The kid broke his and I broke mine.

"I was supposed to guard life," I whisper as the kid sleeps. His cheeks are now sunken. "If I could have stopped this," I whisper brushing his hair with my fingers, "I would have."

A small smile passes over his features. His eyes are dull when they are open. His cheeks look skeletal. His fingers are bony. I try not to cry when I look at him now. His pajamas hang on him. He drowns in them, at his current weight; you can fit about five of him in them.

He cries sometimes. He breathes quickly. His heart rate has dropped. He's dying. His mother turns a blind eye as her son lies dying.

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the lives of the birds and the bees. I speak for the mountains the earth and the air. All of creation lies in my care. I think about the hours and the seconds that pass and how progress and society just progress too fast." I reach for his shoulder and squeeze it.

His breath goes shaky again. His throat is torn ragged by his harsh breathing. He won't accept any food or water even. He's so determined to die. I wish I could have removed the toxicity of his family from his life before it got this far.

"H-how o-old is she?" He whispers. "Is i-is she pretty? Is she pretty li-like her mama?"

"She gets prettier every day Beanpole."

"Good. Good," his head falls back again. Words. Speaking simple words is hard for him now.

"I miss you Beanpole. You are worth it." I whisper.


	5. History Repeats Itself and A Voice

I listened holding the phone against my ear. She played off the phone call as a simple hello, but I could read through it.

"So is that all you wanted to say?" I asked removing my glasses. I ran my hands through my dark hair. I sat down on a swivel chair still holding the phone.

"Well actually," she started. I could hear her starting to get nervous. She knew I hated leaving. I hoped she also knew that I could throw on a disguise and be there in seconds. If she needed it, I'd give up my life.

"Please come get me," she whispered.

I took off my usual brooding clothes and threw on a grey sweater and some jeans. I hated stepping out of this landscape but as Mustache told me when the forest was dwindling to the last few trees. I couldn't stop caring about life because I made one mistake. I pulled all the windows up on the car. Tinted windows, gotta love them. I sped off to find her.

She was waiting outside her dorm in the rain.

She jumped in the seat next to me.

"I-I, I-I didn't think you'd come." She whispered.

"I wouldn't leave for just anyone but you had better know that I'd leave for you." I said to her.

"Thank you," she whispered tears filling her eyes.

She looked smaller than when I'd last seen her. She was just in her twenties not much older than I had been when . . . I couldn't think that history would repeat itself that way.

"Let's go, home. You been grocery shopping lately?" I asked.

"I usually eat with friends," she said. "In the Union. I've been busy lately."

"I see. Well, Laura keeps me pretty stocked so we'll eat together."I said not forcing the issue. It would turn her on me.

"Laura can come pick me up. I-I just need some time to think."

"I understand." I said. "I-I really do. Alice, you can tell me anything," I said pulling into the Lekrim.

"I know." She said. "It doesn't rain out here?"

"Never," I said sadly. "And I miss that rain."

. . .

I woke up and I remembered yesterday. I didn't like yesterday. Why did my mouth feel so dry? Why did I feel so shaky on my feet?

I woke up Alice and went to the kitchen to make some food. I looked at the butter sizzling in the pan. I pushed the eggs around on the pan. I was scared to eat it. _Look at that grease and that yoke do you know how many calories are. . ._

"Hi Daddy! That smells great!" Alice said jumping up on her chair next to me.

I just smiled. I couldn't fight the voice in my head.

I put the eggs on a plate for her and grabbed a cereal bar and water for myself. I heard about this thing that if you replace one meal with cereal you could drop a few pounds. I decided that might be worth it.

"Beanpole aren't you going to eat more than that?"

"I need to go and work I thought I'd just grab something fast for the road." I smiled trying to show them I would be fine.

"Okay Beanpole, but don't go trying to promote yourself to Stringbean."

Alice laughed.

"Oh sure go and turn my one girl fan club on me too why don't ya?" I said in mock anger.

We all laughed as I left the house for work.

The Lorax took Alice out to play later. I watched them as I picked at a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She was spinning around her reddish brown braids spinning with her under the bright Truffula Trees.

"Oncie, what are you doin'!" My mother screeched. "Come on now, really how immature is that? We're goin' shoppin' and getting' you introduced to the adult world Mr."

She dragged me out of my office and away from my day dreams.

_Oncie, you're never safe from me. Bigger is better for business; you just need to grow up Mr. Let mother show you how it's done Oncie. Let mother show you how it works, because mother knows best. _

. . .

I'm scared. I don't know where I am and all I can hear is her. It's scary. Mustache, I wanna go home. I press down harder on my arm with the claws I've grown. Unfiled fingernails make nice weapons. Claws. That's what they are. Claws, because I'm a monster.

_Oncie it's okay Momma doesn't mind. _

She walks in my room. She sees and she turns around. She takes my pinky in hers. It's as if she was a small child who has promised me she won't tell. Maybe, maybe, just maybe, I want her to tell. I'm scared. She's always around; she always looks, but . . . she never sees. 


	6. Mother Knows Best

_Mother knows best. . ._

_She does. She does. Listen to your mother. _

"Oncie, you're staring off into space." She says.

"Yeah, I know," he plays with his food. He looks at the salad.

"See now this is what it means to be an adult," she whispers just a little too close to him.

He's scared but he's scared to say so.

_Mother knows best . . . _

_She wouldn't steer you wrong._

_Listen to your mother. . . _

_She's in the right not you._

_It's a scary world out there. . ._

_Don't think just let her do for you._

_Mother. Knows. Best. _

She is taking over and she can tell.

He puts more of the food in his mouth. He finds this isn't so bad. He can stomach this. He feels like he can keep this down. For once, he doesn't feel so sick.

_Mother Knows Best._

When he looks in the mirror today he doesn't feel like a monster. She puts her hands on his tiny shoulders and whispers. She tells him he's handsome. She tells him she's proud and this feeds his small hope. If he gets thinner she'll love him more.

She'll love me. He thinks. She'll love me. I just need to go further. She looks at me different.

She buys him a green suit. It's nice. He likes it. It's nice. She buys it for him.

_Mother knows best. _

He comes home. He's smiling. He's not eating any of what he makes but he smiles.

It goes on for a while like this.

He's dizzy.

He smiles.

_Mother Knows Best. _

He's busy.

So he doesn't eat.

It's been a week.

A salad, tea, water, a salad, a cereal bar, a marshmallow,

One.

It's been a week.

He's lost five pounds.

It's been a week.

_Mother Knows Best._

And he's scared. But he's scared to say so.

. . .

Beanpole is different. He smiles but he looks thinner. He walks different. He looks like a tall building ready to fall because the frame can't support it.

It's been a week and I can tell you exactly what he's eaten. 3 salads, 4 marshmallows, not 4 helpings of marshmallows but FOUR marshmallows, 2 cereal bars, 12 cups of tea and 15 bottles of water.

He's falling over. I can't help it. He's scaring me! He's so tall and thin already. His life is in my hands. I promised I'd watch him but he won't let me in.

I'm scared for him. He's ready to fall. He's putting on a face that I'm sure everyone can see through. Why doesn't anyone do something?

He's gonna die if they don't do something.

. . .

He's having trouble standing. Wednesday. He doesn't like Wednesday. He's going to take pictures. He's not satisfied. It's been a whole week. Today starts a week and a day. He's so dizzy.

Water.

Mother says water.

_Mother Knows Best._

He falls at the sink. He tries to stand. He can't.

_Mother Knows Best._

He's hurting.

Why?

She said. She promised.

_Mother Knows Best._

"Beanpole?"

_Mother Knows Best._

"Easy kid, sit down. Easy. Easy."

_Mother Knows Best._

"Don't worry kid. Alice grab his inhaler it's on his desk or it should be. Keep breathing."

She said it wouldn't hurt.

_Mother Knows Best._

"Kid stay with me. Don't panic kid. It's okay."

Alice is touching his face.

Who was she again?

"Beanpole? Kid?"

_Mother Knows Best._


	7. A Brave Face

**The title of this fic is named after an amazing song called Rest by Nevertheless. The lyrics in the first chapter are from this song. I originally posted this on DA so I didn't make an author's note with in the fic. **

**Expect the lyrics to show up randomly. Also, bonus to anyone who picked up on this, there were lyrics from Mother Knows Best thrown into Once-ler's crazed thoughts. This is not a song fic however. I just enjoy using lyrics in my writing on occasion. **

The poor kid was holding onto the sink. He was leaning over wheezing.

"Beanpole?" I asked. I scurried over to him.

"She promised. She promised this wouldn't hurt Mustache." _His mother._

"Easy kid, sit down. Easy. Easy." I coaxed. I took his face in my hands. Breathing was so hard for him.

"Don't worry kid. Alice grab his inhaler it's on his desk or it should be. Keep breathing."

I'd never seen anyone run so fast. She came back holding the small object. She offered it to him. He seemed confused.

"Kid stay with me. Don't panic kid. It's okay." I murmured.

He looked unsteady even sitting. He brought the inhaler up to his mouth with shaky hands. Alice guided it up to his lips. His entire body was shaking with effort.

"Keep breathing," I pushed. I gently pushed his dark hair off his face. He looked thinner? He was already thin, but there seemed to be something wrong. "Keep breathing, deep breaths kiddo. Beanpole, Beanpole listen to me kid, it is going to be okay."

He started to calm enough to get the inhaler into his mouth. His hands were shaking. I was so scared. The kid would not die on my watch though.

"Focus kid, focus," I told him. Alice was crying.

"Please," she whispered holding his hand.

He forced the metal part down and took a deep breath.

"Keep trying, keep breathing kid, don't worry. Don't worry," I whispered.

She had a few tears running down her cheeks.

He breathed in again. He was starting to have less trouble.

"It's okay now kid," I whispered. "You're alright now."

He seemed to nod. He let himself lean back a little.

"Don't get up yet kid," I said when he tried.

Alice gave him some water.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Don't EVER do that again," I said to him sternly.

He nodded slowly.

"You're calling your mother and she is driving you. Got it? You are going to put this in your pocket and you are going to carry it on your person ALWAYS! Do you understand?"

He nodded slowly again.

I handed him the phone and he called. She came and got him but it took him 20 minutes for him to convince her to come.

"Rest easy she'll knock. Don't get up until you have to." I said. I didn't realize I'd been holding his right hand the whole time.

He forced a smile. I could see something in his blue eyes, fear. Humans were scared easily. I learned that. He was upset and scared.

"It's okay kid," I said reassuring him.

"She said that too," he whispered.

His mother banged on the door. He dutifully stood up though it caused him pain. He painted on a brave face as always.

He was always wearing a brave face.


End file.
